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This lot comprises two complementary pieces of printed ephemera from the Knights Inn motel chain, dating to the mid-1980s. The primary document is a guest folio/receipt from the Knights Inn at 419 Commerce Drive in Richmond, Indiana, located in Wayne County. This folio, a standard form for the chain, bears the \"sleep royally!\" slogan and a faint castle-themed logo watermark. The form’s layout, with ruled columns for itemized charges, reflects the standardized billing practices of the era’s budget-lodging industry, which was rapidly expanding along interstate highways. The Richmond location, situated on a commercial corridor, catered to both traveling motorists and business clientele, a demographic shift that the chain’s marketing actively courted.The second item is a Knights Inn guest information card, a tri-fold or single-sheet brochure titled \"Comfort rules.\" This piece is a rich artifact of mid-1980s hospitality conventions. The card, copyrighted in 1985 by Cardinal Industries, Inc. and marked with a July 1985 print date (7/85), details the chain’s operational standards. It informs guests of a 24-hour front desk, free local calls (by dialing 9), and the procedure for long-distance calls, with area codes other than 317, which were billed at checkout. It also lists the television channels available, including ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, CNN, and Showtime, with a notable disclaimer that Showtime occasionally broadcast \"R\" rated movies. The card explicitly documents the motel’s amenities, such as a seasonal outdoor pool open from Memorial Day through Labor Day without a lifeguard, and the availability of free ice, coffee, and snacks in the lobby. Significantly, it advertises a range of room configurations—kitchenettes for extended stays, \"Royal Rooms\" with a bed and sofa, two-bed rooms for families, and one-bed rooms for business travelers—as well as a conference room seating up to twelve, illustrating the chain’s attempt to segment its market. The card’s typography, with its clean sans-serif headings and structured layout, is typical of corporate hospitality design of the period. Together, these two items offer a detailed snapshot of the operational and promotional language of a mid-tier motel chain, capturing the everyday commercial culture of roadside lodging in the Reagan era.
